Past Devotions

I was reminded recently about the seasons of our life. Last Sunday, as a congregation, we prayed for two newborn babies struggling with life-threatening issues, and two older women who have devoted their lives to their LORD, 96 and 82, also struggling with health issues. The congregation that prayed spanned all the years in between.

We are each in differing seasons of life. Some of us are right where we want to be. Some of us are not. Some don’t particularly like where they are now, they want it to be different, something new or exciting; or, they want it to be what it used to be. A verse in Ecclesiastes 9:10 helped me through a particularly difficult season of life: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.”

That verse carried me through what some have described as a “dark night of the soul.” It was a time when I could not sense God’s presence at all. I did not hear His voice. The heavens felt like brass when I prayed. I had no friend nor family near me. I had left a ministry I loved and had nothing to take its place. I wondered what I had done wrong to be where I was at that point in time.

But I did what the verse in Ecclesiastes 9:10 commanded. When I saw a need, I tried to fill it. When I saw someone struggling, I spoke about the love and beauty of the LORD. I don’t think anyone knew what was going on in my own soul then—I felt that this was between the LORD and me. I somehow knew that if I remained faithful to “do what my hand found with all my might,” one day the dawn would break and that dark night would be over. And, of course, it did.

We may not be where we want to be at this moment – maybe yearning for something new and exciting or desperately wanting to go back to when things were different – but we can be assured that wherever we are, God is with us. We just need to do whatever our hand finds to do – with all our might!

I am in that part of my Yearly Bible Reading Plan where I’m reading the book of Jeremiah. I am amazed at how much of Jeremiah can be applied to contemporary culture. Yesterday, however, I came across a definition of old age (my contemporary culture), “the old, those weighed down with years.” [Jeremiah 6:11]

Having gained entry into that group labeled “old,” I can verify that definition is quite accurate. Each year leaves a weight on my body. I laugh sometimes when I get up wondering what new ache I might experience today, or what part of me isn’t working quite as well today as yesterday. The other night as I headed for bed, I had warm compresses on my eyes, an ice pack on my neck, and was putting on my copper-fit knee sleeves because the weather was changing. I have become my grandmother!

Yep, each year seems to add a little more weight in the sense that my body, no matter how hard I try to keep it young and fresh with diet and exercise, feels just a bit heavier. My body is aging, becoming weighed down a little more as the years pass. But, let me be perfectly clear, that’s just my body, and only my body.

As my body is becoming heavier, I am also experiencing a lightness to my soul and spirit. I soar more often with the LORD, my praise and worship of my Savior and LORD is deeper and more profound. I sense God’s presence more often. I care less what people think and care more about what my LORD thinks of me.

If I look ahead at what the next years hold in this life, I see increasing weakness and eventual frailty. But if I look ahead with spiritual eyes, I see strength and glory and an eternal home where all pain and weakness and tears and death are banished forever. I am living each day in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Thank you, LORD JESUS. Amen & Amen

September 9, 1966, I remember this date well. I was living in California working for the State of California Nursing Board. It was a holiday for us – California Admission Day, the celebration of the date California was admitted to the Union. It ended up being more than that.

I had met a young man, a former Marine, handsome, funny (he was 26, I was 19). We had our first date on August 11. On September 9 we went out to dinner and then up to Folsom Dam overlook to watch the sunset. As the night fell, we decided to get married. It wasn’t a formal proposal, no ring yet. In fact, Bob claims I asked him. I thought he asked me. After a few years of marriage, we figured out no one had really asked anyone, it was all a misunderstanding. (I did ask him to marry me 25 years later when we celebrated our 25^th wedding anniversary – so I guess after 52 ½ years we can no longer claim it was a misunderstanding!)

In Christianity, there are different views about how we become part of the family of God. The two main views (and there are dozens of sub-views) are Calvinism and Arminianism. Simply (very simply) defined, God chooses completely whom He wants—man has no part in it (Calvinism); or, God invites “whosoever will” – and man makes a choice (Arminianism). I have had people come unglued if I mention something that they do not consider part of their viewpoint. One man became so angry he threw his Bible on the floor and stomped out of a Bible Study.

So, if you meet me on the street one day and ask me what view I hold, I’m going to tell you that I am not really sure, and honestly, I no longer care who started it, I am just so thankful someone did! God may have asked me, or I may have “found God” and asked Him. Maybe it all happened at once. But, it’s a bit like my “engagement,” it doesn’t really matter after all this time; I am just so thankful that I am a child of God.

1 John 3:1: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”

Recently I wrote about skipping over Halloween and going straight to the Thanksgiving Holiday. I plan on making each day Thanksgiving Day!

Wednesday as I was out on my worship walk, I discovered several houses that have already begun the ritual of putting up Halloween decorations. One house had half their roof covered with a black cloth that extended down over their porch. On the cloth were symbols of the Halloween holiday.

As I walked past, a thought occurred to me that rather than being dismayed by the decorations, I am instead going to recall one thing to thank God for each time I walk past one of those decorated residences. I am going to praise God, aloud, and thank Him.

So, this morning, as I passed by, I thanked God for His abundant mercy to me. “Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy.” [Ps 28:6]

The OT word for mercy is “checed.” It has been translated as loving-kindness, steadfast love, grace, mercy, faithfulness, goodness, and devotion. It is used 240 times in the OT and is found frequently in the Psalms. According to Vine’s Dictionary of OT Words, it is one of the most important words in the vocabulary of OT theology and ethics. I find that very interesting … that we find so many occurrences of mercy in the part of the Bible that many consider harsh and punitive.

But I don’t really need Vine’s definition of the word mercy. I’ve experienced it firsthand and will be eternally grateful for it. Ah, I wonder what a Halloween-decorated house will prompt me to thank my LORD for tomorrow?

I like football. When I say that in church some people groan, others respond with comments such as, “Really?” “Never knew that.” Or, “yep, we’ve heard that before.” And since I was raised in Western Pennsylvania, I’m a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. The team recently traded one of their really good players, Antonio Brown, to the Raiders.

When you are traded you put aside the uniform and helmet you used to wear and put on the uniform and helmet of the new team. Mr. Brown, however, didn’t want to put on the new helmet. He didn’t like it. He wanted to continue to wear his old helmet, with just the outside logo changed. The team denied his request. So, he went to the league and appealed. The NFL denied his request. The only alternative left for appeal was through arbitration. He lost again. He would not be allowed to wear his old helmet.

Sounds like much ado about nothing, but it really isn’t. The football helmets have been re-designed over the last few years because of the plethora of head injuries to the players. They have been designed with accessories to protect the player, keep him from suffering concussions, and allow him to finish his career without sustaining damage that will affect him for the rest of his life.

As Christians, when we get “traded” from this dark world into the Kingdom of God’s Dear Son through salvation, we too are commanded to pick up the “helmet” of our new experience. “Let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” [1 Thessalonians 5:8-9]

You can’t keep wearing the old head gear with the world’s, the flesh’s, and the devil’s logo. You must pick up the helmet of salvation … faith, love, self-control … in order to receive that ultimate salvation that awaits us in the presence of our LORD Jesus Christ.

“This is what the LORD says — your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.’” [Isaiah 48:17]

Jesus told His disciples and those who would believe on the LORD after them that “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” [John 14:26-27]

We are to be disciples of Christ. We are also to disciple others. That means we are to learn and then teach others the ways of the LORD, or as the LORD told Isaiah, “what is best for [us].”

I want the very best God has for me. I want to walk in the way that will have the least obstacles, the least hindrances for my fellowship with the Living God. But I also want that for others … that is where I must take what I have learned through God’s Counselor, the Holy Spirit, and share it with those coming after me. And then they must take what they have learned and share it with even more.

Jesus taught His followers, and His followers taught others through the power and enlightenment of God’s Holy Spirit. That is the cycle of godly discipleship. Unfortunately, we seem to have abandoned that God-given model. Now we have what I call the “pulpit-pew” model. The preacher preaches and the attendees attend. It doesn’t get much more involved than that.

If you want “what is best for you” and you want what is best for others … practice discipleship. There is nothing more exciting than to see others catch the fire of God’s Spirit, His love and mercy in their own lives as you teach them.

Early August I walked through a Walmart and came across a center aisle display of candy corn. This was before we went to California on August 7. Recently that candy corn has found a companion, an entire aisle of Halloween candy. Last week in Costco, I found rows of Halloween costumes. Halloween isn’t until October 31 – could they not have waited at least until late September?

Perhaps I am a bit dismayed because I really don’t like Halloween. Well, there’s really no “perhaps.” And I’m probably a little more than “a bit dismayed.” I’ve made myself very clear to most people that I think the devil has that holiday in his possession and while I think children should be allowed to play dress up, dressing them up in costumes that reflect the evil of this world is just, well, evil.

Each year I can hardly wait for Halloween to pass behind us so we can get to Thanksgiving. Sunday it just came to me, if the marketers and retailers can start Halloween in August, why can’t I begin Thanksgiving also – just jump right over Halloween and pretend it isn’t there.

I told the congregation that starting next Sunday I will be calling on someone to express something for which they are thankful. We’ll have weeks and weeks of testimonies of God’s goodness, blessings and mercy. As it turned out, we didn’t even have to wait until next Sunday because someone had already been touched by God during the worship service to testify a word of thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness and for the prayers of the congregation.

As disciples of Christ Jesus, we are to live in a constant state of gratitude for what God has done for us. Paul is quite clear that we are to “always” give thanks. “Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” [Ephesians 5:19-20]

So, this year I am kangarooing right over Halloween and I’m going to have one long Thanksgiving Holiday! Care to join me?

I was reading in Zephaniah the other day and my spirit was drawn to a passage of warning in Chapter 1. “At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent … who think, ‘The LORD will do nothing either good or bad.’” [vs 12]

A few verses after that Zephaniah begins to describe the “Great Day of the LORD” and what it will mean for those who have not heeded God’s warning. But it was verse 12 above that prompted two thoughts. The first is that God dislikes (may I say “hates?”) complacency. Complacency is when we become “settled” in our own self-interests and care not for the things of the LORD. It is when we look at the world and others as if they were but a mirror … “who’s the fairest of the all?”.

The second thought is the punishment that comes to those who think the LORD is a “do nothing” god; that He either doesn’t care or doesn’t have the power to do either good or bad. For some people, God is just not on their radar at all. They care nothing for His will, His Presence, nor His commands. They disregard Him as little more than a fable for the gullible or a crutch for the weak.

When Zephaniah goes on in verses 14-19 to describe the Great and Terrible Day of the LORD, it is not a pretty picture. We must be aware that for believers who are longing for Christ’s appearing, the Day of the LORD will be a delight. We eagerly await the pronouncement from Rev 11:15: “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

But for those who are “complacent” about spiritual matters, for those who have regarded the LORD as a “do nothing” god, the Day of the LORD will be devastating. Oh beloved, let us never grow complacent but let us remain vigilant and always looking for His Coming!

A recent NBC News Alert hit my email with this pronouncement: “Futurist James Lovelock, renowned for his work on the Gaia hypothesis, celebrated his 100th birthday with a bold prediction: Earth will one day be dominated by artificial life — the descendants of today’s robots and artificial intelligence systems. And, he says in his new book, ‘Novacene,’ the process has already begun.”

The title of the article is: “Cyborgs Will Replace Humans and Remake the World.” You can find it on nbcnews.com/mach/science/cyborgs

Oh, I think the world is going to be remade all right, but not as futurist Lovelock proclaims. The Scriptures have been proclaiming that promise far longer than Mr. Lovelock has … St. Peter told us: “In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” [2 Peter 3:13]

And John saw it: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’” [Rev 21:1-4]

Not robots and cyborgs and artificial intelligence systems, but the home of righteousness, the dwelling of God with men, a place where death, mourning, crying and pain are gone forever. Oh, I want to see what John saw!

There is a wonderful song by The Hoppers. It expresses what John saw and what I’m longing to see! Check it out:

https://www.bing.com/search?q=john+saw+by+the+hoppers&form=EDGSPH&mkt=en-us&httpsmsn=1&plvar=0&refig=8a79112e1fe34ca7accd2681e433f583&sp=1&qs=AS&pq=john+saw+by+the+hop&sc=1-19&cvid=8a79112e1fe34ca7accd2681e433f583&cc=US&setlang=en-US